whispers in the dark {Ezekiel oneshot}

A broken heart slammed against the white tiled floor with each step he took. Dark eyes fixated on the white walls, and every ghost glared back at him. Screams of the dying infiltrated his mind. Within seconds Zeke was tossed back into the medical tent in district four. Telling families he did all he could do, but it wasn't enough to save their mother, or telling them their son wasn't going to survive the injuries the tsunami caused. Mangled bodies haunt his dreams. Fearful eyes begged him for some sort of mercy because death was coming too soon, and nothing would stop the grim reaper from reaping another. A broken mother's scream echoed from the glass. It was a reality he faced not long ago, and now the demons lingered around. The souls of those he couldn't save bellowed through his mind.

Zeke was trained to save people's lives, and from a young age his mother told him he wasn't a god, but the reality never set in until now. Out of all his training, he did his best, however, it wasn't good enough. His best was never good enough because he failed at saving his own mother. His arrival in six was unwelcomed because the one person he cared for the most had finally passed away. Haly was gone, and Zeke wasn't there to say goodbye. His entire life was devoted to saving her, to protecting her, but when she needed him the most, Zeke ran to district four to help out those in need. All that remained was a drunken father who didn't care for anyone. But he wasn't a god - even the most trained professional couldn't save the world from the shattered stone as the devil reached through snatching the children away.

But there he was walking through the hospital begging for the nightmares to go away as the doors opened, and panicked citizens brought in a man. His pale face, and blue lips said it all. The clerk called for help, and in an instant Zeke was on his feet racing forward. Passing in front of the hospital he barely caught sight of the sun setting behind the trees for the night - it was past time to go home, but he had no time to waste. All he wanted was to save another man's life. To prove that he wasn't as worthless as he imagined.

Orders were being barked as Zeke strutted into the room. Gloves were already upon his hands as he began setting up IVs while questioning those who witnessed the event. "He was just standing around talking, and he just collapsed. It was supposed to be a fun night out with the guys. Just had a bit to drink. Nothing major, though." Silent tears rolled down the face of the man standing outside the door. "He'll be alright won't he? He's all I got."

A lump formed in the back of Zeke's throat, and it took all he had to keep the strangled sounds inside his body. Butterflies danced around in his stomach. How many times had he heard those exact same words in the last few months? He bit his lip trying to find the right answer to say, and through all the training he received, Zeke couldn't find the answer he was looking for. But he knew giving false hope went against all he knew. He sighed.

"We're going to do everything we can."

He disappeared into the room, and his eyes locked on the eyes of the lifeless body lying on the bed. Zeke turned from person to person as orders were barked. The monitor was hooked up, and the line was flat, and he knew nothing could save this man. He was gone, but he had to try for the guy sobbing in the hall. One of the other nurses shook her head, yet Zeke reached forward and starting compressing his chest trying to bring the dead man back to life.

Other's started lines in order to push the epinephrine through his veins in attempt to restart the ceased heart. Tubes were shoved down his throat. It was such an unpleasant sight, but it had to be done.

Beads of sweat rolled down his brow. Breathing became hard before his partner took over the compressions for a while. But time was not on his side.

An hour passed by, and nothing happened. There wasn't any sign of life left inside this man, but Zeke refused to give up. He couldn't save his sister. He couldn't save his mother. He couldn't save people in district four. This man needed him. The man in the hall needed his friend alive.

Arms wrapped around him pulling him away from the corpse, and Zeke fought for as long as he could trying to keep it going.

"Zeke, he's gone."

The words bounced through his skull. He knew the man was gone. He knew nothing would save him, but he refused to believe it. So many had died on his watch, and he didn't want to lose anymore. Ezekiel shook his head before running back towards the man and pressing his chest some more.

"Ezekiel, he's dead. We've done all we could do."

A river of tears rolled down his face saturating his shirt as the monitor stopped beeping.

"Zeke, you tried. You gave one hundred percent. That's all you can do."

"But it's not enough. It's never enough."

Broken realities danced before him as he turned away from the bed. His heart raced inside his chest trying to burst through the ribs protecting it. When his eyes locked on the eyes of the man sobbing in the floor, his heart shattered into millions of pieces. No words were spoken, and the man cried out as loud as he could. His fist pounding into the floor over and over. Zeke plopped down next to him trying to hide the tears in his own eyes. "I'm sorry for your loss." But sorry wasn't enough. It was never enough in these situations.

Another demon was added to the ghosts lingering behind him, and they wouldn't rest until Ezekiel was a corpse rotting six feet under the ground.